Their names are in the history of science

Dialogue with Dubna residents

On 18 April, a screening of the new documentary film "Element of Knowledge" dedicated to FLNR Scientific Leader, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Yuri Oganessian and a meeting of the audience with him was held in the JINR Cultural Centre "Mir".

Schoolchildren and teachers, students of Dubna University and lecturers, JINR staff, residents of the city gathered in the Cultural Centre. The movie was created by the main editorial office of the historical channel "365 Days of TV".

"We are very happy that our film will be shown in Dubna in the presence of Yuri Tsolakovich, it is a great honor for us," the film's producer German Tregubenko said. "We have made a series of movies about famous scientists; one was dedicated to D.I.Mendeleev. We were advised to come to Dubna. We met with Yuri Tsolakovich and after hearing him talk about Mendeleev, we realized that we should make a film about him. We talked with Yuri Tsolakovich, saw the laboratory where he works, visited with him the meeting on heavy ion physics and the meeting of the Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg - it was unforgettable. At this meeting, Yuri Ts. Oganessian introduced us to S.V.Rimskaya-Korsakova that founded the Technological Department of the Russian Museum. As a result, thanks to Yuri Tsolakovich, there were also four films about the research of the Russian Museum canvases."

"Every journalist has a dream - to talk to brilliant people of the past and Yuri Tsolakovich is a living genius," the co-writer of the movie, journalist Olga Tregubenko shared. "When we were editing the movie, I felt very sorry for every minute of the recording that had to be cut. Yuri Tsolakovich spoke in parables and aphorisms, it was impossible to cut them. Some of them became our family ones. For example, the phrase: "But you, Glenn, will regret it", said by Oganessian when G. Seeborg refused to cooperate with JINR in the synthesis of transuranic elements."

The film introduced us to the childhood and student youth of Yuri Tsolakovich, his arrival to Dubna, the period of his heading of the laboratory in the dramatic time of perestroika and the difficult topic of the search for the island of stability. Afterwards, the host of the meeting, JINR Assistant Director for International Cooperation I.T.Suleymanov invited to the stage the hero of the evening. JINR Vice-Director V.D.Kekelidze congratulated him on his recent birthday, wishing him a tailwind and good luck in new discoveries. Questions to Yuri Tsolakovitch could be asked in writing by filling in a special form before the meeting or hoping to get a microphone in the hall. I.T.Suleymanov grouped the written questions that totaled almost forty, by topic and the first question was: "How does it feel to see your name in the Periodic Table?"

"I am often asked about it," Yuri Tsolakovich replied. "The name is suggested by your colleagues, the participants of the discovery and there are no stricter judges."

To a group of questions - what he draws inspiration in, what music inspires him, his favorite movie and favorite wine - he answered that he likes red wine. And about the beginning of work in Dubna, Yuri Tsolakovich said:

- In the laboratory, I found myself by age between two generations: the older generation of the Golden Age and those that were younger than me. I obtained a very good school. At the Moscow Mechanical Institute (today, MEPhI) there were not many of us 18-year-olds and those that returned from the front were 10 years older. But in the dormitory, everyone lived very friendly: we were always trim and our elders did not make remarks to us.

When asked how he reacted to the news of the Chernobyl accident, Yu. Ts. Oganessian said:

- We were very worried. If a person is a professional, he is not afraid, he knows what to do. Chernobyl was a big test not only for those involved in nuclear power engineering, but also for the residents of Pripyat and neighboring regions. It is a test to realize that the design of a nuclear power plant should take into account the risks of all sorts, incredible destruction and its consequences. Rosatom takes this very seriously and our reactors are at the forefront in this respect.

- How did your love for physics manifest?

- It wasn't something inborn in me. In the fourth grade, I was convinced that I would become an artist or an architect. I wanted to enter a specialized art school but my father strongly opposed it, believing that it was necessary to have an engineering education. After graduating from school with a silver medal, I had the right to enter any university without exams. I did not pay serious attention to physics at school. And when I applied to the Moscow Mechanical Institute, I thought: "What am I doing? I wanted to become an architect, didn't I?" I went to the Moscow Institute of Mechanical Engineering but there I had to pass two exams - in drawing and architecture. I got two "A's" on them. They told me: bring the documents. I rushed to MEPhI to get my documents but they had already been sent for verification that lasted two months.

When I came to Dubna, no one taught me anything on purpose. I wanted to learn. Like in the old days, when an apprentice watched from a corner as a master molded something out of clay on a potter's wheel. And if he saw a mistake, he could become a better master.

- Is it possible to discover all the elements of the Periodic Table?

- There is a theory that there could be 170 elements. Today, there are only 118. The question is how long the nucleus can live. It was the dream of all alchemists to turn lead into gold by any means necessary. Currently, we can realize their dream, we get other atoms from some atoms but not in the same way as at the creation of the world. At present, we are still facing the task of obtaining the element 119 and answering the question: is 118 a noble gas or not.

- Have your drawing skills come in handy in your life?

- No. I do explanatory drawings in lectures, but that's not it. Yet, I have a grandson that is an artist and a daughter that is an architect!

We can congratulate the film makers on their success, all those that came to the Cultural Centre that evening - on such a warm and very interesting meeting and Yuri Tsolakovich received the love of his fellow countrymen in the form of attention, applause and flowers.

Olga TARANTINA,
photo by Elena PUZYNINA